No offence intended to Americans, but they tend to have a very American-centric view of everything. Yes, there's a big world outside of the U.S. where eSIMS are not necessarily well supported. So I agree, it shouldn't even be considered news that iPhones will retain a SIM tray in global markets. It goes without saying, unless they want to just not compete outside of the U.S.
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iPhone 17 Pro Leak Reveals SIM Card Tray Might Live Another Year in Some Countries
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Not all mobile service providers in the uk have an option for eSim. Tesco Mobile for one.
This is the fear. Physical sims were just so easy to swap between devices, and didnt require going to the carrier brick and mortar and then paying them $20 to pop your sim out and then put it in a different phone.
Most German providers don't offer ESim for Multi-Sim so this would be an instant no go. I need to be able to use the same sim in multiple phones at the same time.
Seems you don’t travel internationally…
Anytime I’ve travelled I’ve had no problem getting a secondary ESIM, or just using the international plan on my primary line. You just press a few buttons, it’s really that easy. I haven’t fumbled around with SIM cards in an airport in a decade
I guess you mean Airalo and the other rip offs?
Just compare their prices with the cost of a local sim.
But each to their own… I guess we all travel differently — some of us travel independently while others prefer a pre-paid and pre-arranged tour bus. 🤷🏻♂️
Thing is, China is a big market for Apple. With China you have its special regions as well, Hong Kong and Macau.
They don’t have eSims, it’s not a thing there. There’s also other countries that don’t do it.
So the Sim card tray is still important and won’t disappear fully for a few years.
On cellular iPads I really wish they'd keep a SIM slot, as that's a use case where I move the SIM around from device to device since I don't always need Cellular on the iPad.
This is exactly what carriers don't want people doing ... they want to sell you as many ongoing subscription connections as possible.
This is exactly what carriers don't want people doing ... they want to sell you as many ongoing subscription connections as possible.
Eventually, it’s all going to eSIM so there will be cheaper options. I’ve never paid that much for data overseas.
You’re absolutely correct. If the Chinese government doesn’t allow people to use eSIM, Apple will sell iPhones in China with SIM slots. Apple is about making money. If the government required all cell phones to be square instead of rectangular than Apple would introduce a square iPhone.
I don’t know exactly what restrictions the Chinese government has on eSIM but I suspect they will soften eventually
I skipped the last phone because of a lack of a SIM tray and I might do the same with 17 or might buy it in Hong Kong to make sure I have an ability to use a physical SIM. eSIM is either totally unavailable or practically unavailable to travelers in a great many countries I go to regularly and I can't live without it.
These services normally only offer data and no number to receive texts or calls but sometimes I need to be able to be reached by a tourism agency or something while there.
I also always put my sim from work in my private phone to use the data before using my own 🙊
No sim tray, no iphone 17 Pro for me as my work number is still using a physical sim. Private number is an esim.
I wish the Sim tray still existed in the United States.
It's not just an issue of paying for it and more an issue of having a local phone number. Many people and businesses, but especially Uber drivers (or whatever the local version is) often won't respond to foreign numbers or take it as a license to rip you off in some way. We need a way to have a local number and many countries don't offer this facility to eSIM phones.
I traveld half a dozen countries in the last 2 years with no esim. And the international plan of Telekom which i use, costs like 20times more than local
The only time I gripe about Mint Mobile is after 5 eSIM swaps a year, they want $3 each after that. I use both Android and iOS and would love to go back to a physical SIM card, but Apple doesn't let me.
You’re absolutely right. If you need a local number, then you need to work with the local carrier in that country and eSIM might not be available. Most people traveling just need data. When I visit China, I get data and then communicate through WeChat. I believe in most European countries it’s WhatsApp.
If you’re a businessman that needs a local number then your best bet is to buy a phone in the country you do business in. Apple will never stop making an iPhone with a SIM slot in China unless the government eases restrictions on eSIM.
I suspect certain countries have restrictions because they want you to be physically present when you get the SIM card. This way they can attach you to your government ID and to your phone number. They don’t want people getting disposable numbers online to do unauthorized things.
If I only have one physical SIM I can't use a local one unless I set my home SIM to forward everything to an international number, adding to the cost.
Using Airalo, I just set up an eSIM before I go and change the settings when I arrive.
As to it being a rip-off? Vodafone UK roaming (on my older, cheaper roaming) account is £6 per day and it comes out of a 25GB/month roaming allowance. Airalo was £14 for 30 days and 20GB (which I didn't really dip into when I was there for 3 weeks last month).
I've today changed mine and my wife's SIMs over to eSIMs and it was straightforward and quick.
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And earlier in the year I was in India for a week which was £4 for 1GB, so one thirteenth of the cost. My Vodafone account has 83 other countries, but some of my more recent trips have been to areas not covered.
My referral code for Airalo for a discount (and a small allowance for me) is this: RICHAR26697
This is peak phone season. Already bought a Pixel 9a and a Z Fold 7 this summer. Planning on getting a Pixel 10 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. And that OnePlus 15 is rumored to get a 7000 mAh battery. Might not keep every phone, but nice to take a lot of devices out for a test drive.
I guess that doesn't answer "why." Really the why is I make more money than I really need. Also, I like to tinker. And my second job is for a company that does web app development. Even though my role is not a developer, I like to test it out on different size screens and OSes and help where I can.
I don't really mind the $3 eSIM fee. I just find it annoying.
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Wow. Is this for review articles or a hobby? Either way you should be writing about it. Most people don’t get to test drive their phones before they buy. This makes many to include myself apprehensive to try something new. If I hate it I’m going to be stuck with it or waste a bunch of money selling it for half what I paid.